The daily meanderings of a teacher

Bird Droppings February 3, 2018 To create writing, for some seems so difficult in a digital world.   “Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him.” Aldus Huxley   In 1965 I was introduced to this author in a tenth grade English Class. The…

Bird Droppings February 1, 2019 Solitude is within ones soul and heart   “No person, standing before this mystery, has the wisdom or the knowledge to see across the curtain. But for those who stand before their dead with aching hearts and tear filled eyes, one affirmation endures. One truth remains…and one light shines clear.…

Bird Droppings January 31, 2019 Go up another rung!   I walked outside just a few minutes ago into a chilly breeze, we are having our coldest days of winter right now. The sky was clear and the only sound was the flapping of the neighborhood flag against the flag pole. I looked around as…

Bird Droppings January 30, 2019 Can we define our own success?   Yesterday in a teachable moment I drew upon my experiences and while discussing the phylum arthopoda and one of my favorites the black and yellow garden spider, Agriope aurantia, or writing spiders. I then proceeded to offer a Creek Indian view of early…

Bird Droppings January 29, 2019 Taking and making the most of each moment   Waking up to my dog barking because he needs to run outside for a second is not the best way to wake up, although a beautiful sky greeted me. I recall nearly six years ago a similar morning. On that day…

Bird Droppings January 28, 2019 How do we know if we are still human?   Perhaps it is from growing up in a situation where we were aware of special needs children and adults directly from the birth of our younger brother till his passing almost fifteen years ago that those in my family have…

Bird Droppings January 27, 2019 Who is at the center of your universe?   “Tung-shan was asked, ‘The normal mind is the way; what is the normal mind?’ He replied, ’Not picking things up along the road.’” From Teachings of Zen, edited by Thomas Cleary, © 1998   One aspect of the Zen teachings is…

Bird Droppings January 25, 2019 Passion: Can it be rekindled?   Many days I wonder who I write for in the morning. Perhaps no one, maybe a teacher who needs just a thought but occasionally I write for me. I needed an uplift, an adrenaline shot so to say. Starting in a new school with…

Bird Droppings January 24, 2019 Quietly listening to Bob Dylan and pondering the word inspiration I woke up a bit earlier than normal although I did have a very good night’s sleep. I left the class room frustrated yesterday I had not taught. My day had been thrown off by two co-teachers being out and…

Bird Droppings January 23, 2019 Amazing how intertwined the strands of life really are I was asked at dinner one night when did I start teaching and I responded at age twelve. The group I was with was thinking I was being my typical sarcastic self. Then I explained I started teaching swimming with my…